Herring Sticks with Marinated Cucumber Strips

Ingredients

• 4 matjes fillets (alternatively herring fillets in matjes style; see Spoonsparrow tip)
• 1 Granny Smith apple
• 150 g Sour cream
• Salt
• white pepper (freshly ground)
• 2 red onions
• 2 tbsp Vegetable oil
• a pinch of sugar
• 50 ml Apple Juice
• 1 salad cucumber
• 1 tbsp Mikawa mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine vinegar)
• 1 tsp wasabi paste
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 bunch Thai basil

Instructions

1. 1.

   Cut the matjes fillets into bite‑sized pieces. Wash, quarter, core and dice the apple, then place it with the herring in a bowl. Add sour cream, a pinch of salt and pepper, and mix well.

2. 2.

   Peel the onions, halve them and slice thinly. Heat a pan, add vegetable oil, and sauté the onions until just firm. Season with salt and sugar, deglaze with apple juice, then combine with the herring mixture, stir, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

3. 3.

   Peel the cucumber and use a julienne peeler to cut strips around the core. In a bowl whisk together mirin, wasabi, a pinch of salt, and both sesame oils; add the cucumber strips and mix. Rinse the basil, pat dry, chop, and fold in.

4. 4.

   Plate the herring sticks with the marinated cucumber strips on each plate and enjoy.